Spirit Board Painting details

Forgot a detail on the planchette yesterday, and now my "Spirit Board" painting is complete and ready to be delivered to the gallery tomorrow! I thought it only fitting to use a Victorian theme, and therefore Victorian mourning jewelry on the ladies.

The woman on the right has a round necklace with woven hair of her beloved departed inside, and a "jeweled" necklace made of teeth. The woman on the left has a parrot brooch inspired by Disce Mori Julia Deville shop
And the rings are all lovingly reproduced from the Etsy shop of my favorite Jewel Designer, Blood Milk. There's a Bear Tooth Engagement ring...: Blood Milk Bear Tooth

as well as a LYDIA ring by BLood Milk... BloodMilk Etsy

SPIRIT GUIDE necklace by Blood MilkBlood Milk Shop and I used the "Spirit Guide" necklace hand and turned it into a ring. I think the jewelry in this painting tells as much as story as the overall painting does. Following the hints behind the meanings of all the rings and necklaces and hairpieces gives certain insight into the personalities of the ladies and what they are doing here in this situation.

Spirit Board Painting

I've completed my painting for the Spirit Board Group Show which opens Nov 5th!

Spirit Board Update

IN PROGRESS: Still painting away on my piece for the Spirit Board group show. I'm just a few days away from completion I think! The main elements are here, minus one very special detail that will be painted in a bit later, and I'll post that final photo here when possible. This unfinished painting measures 26" x 36". Building my own canvases gives me the flexibility to build the appropriate shape for the idea, and I love canvas. For the sake of durability though, I'm having to consider moving to board eventually, especially since I like to work large. Transporting canvas is always nerve-wracking...but I am not such a fan of that flat texture. I found a company that makes custom sizes, only problem is they sell their boards raw...so's there's not only no ground on which to paint (and I've had unhappy experiences applying my own gesso to wood), but there's no sealant to protect the paint from wood acids. I'm shocked at how many artists paint oil directly on wood and then marvel at how that wood just soaks in all the paint. That is a process that will devour a painting over time. Wood acids mixed with oil, no ground to hold them in...strange to put all that work into something so unstable. Even canvas expands and contracts over time, risking cracking. Such is the nature of ever-changing organic matter!

Back from the Inner Between

I am working hard on a new large piece for an exciting group show coming to Articulated Gallery in November. The super talented supernatural jewelry designer JL Schnabel of Blood Milk is curating this show. I am ever so excited to see what results of the artists she's collected for this Spirit Board show. When she invited me to paint a Ouija Board themed painting, I knew this was the perfect time, as it's October! (And a super haunted one it's already been. I expect to feel quite a buzz at this show.), especially since I've been working on my Tarot deck for the last few months. Divination all around!

And, since I pushed myself so hard, painting 15 hour days and surviving on a body-abusive (but delicious) diet of cappuccinos, I started seeing a phenomenal Chiropractor who also uses Cranial-Sacral, nutrition, muscle testing..I think my husband finally found the magic naturopath for me! Especially after my fist visit, detoxing hard, I tried to get a little balancing energy from a gemstone nap..when the stones started to chuckle at me and told me "nope! this time you can't rely on outside fix: time to get it right on the inside." I knew we were on the right track!

I was born with the mark of a Shaman, or some say the plight of an artist: sickly child; asthma, allergies ( I could barely eat a thing), battling life and death over and over, hearing that Angel of Death laughing in my face. Doctors could never quite help-some along the way contributed, but mostly they pumped me full of meds that destroyed my immune system. Born a Scorpio seems so apt, and it's no wonder I can communicate with Spirits who've passed over, and an occasional earthbound ghost. More importantly, my illness and these spirits were just trying to get me to remember who I am, and my illness and these hauntings directed me on my path (not without great suffering).

Even though feeling exhausted is one of the most frustrating feelings for me, it's exciting to feel my body working. Each day I know what organ is being cleaned out because I am called to feel the emotion associated with it. As the thoughts and feelings erupt, I am carefully listening, observing, learning. This re-balancing is slowing me wayyy down, which is difficult for me, but I know it's needed after a lifetime of living with dis-ease. As I breakthrough to new levels of healing, I feel I'll breakthrough to new levels of creativity, clairvoyance, feeling..it's endless!
My intuition has led me to naturopathy over the years, and I am so excited to work with a doctor who's listening to what my body is saying right now in the present (instead of using me as a lab rat for experiments, which has been most of my AMA experience). That's a healer!